Times are not hard for everyone

December 01, 2010

Once again the Tribune misses the point. "Both the village and the zoo have fallen on hard times, along with the rest of the country" ("The monkey tax," Nov. 27). Lumping us all together is a common refrain in the newspaper, even to the point of proposing that tax cuts for the rich be extended because we're all against the Washington, D.C. taxaholics ("Extend the tax cuts," Sept.14).

The last time we were all so cozy was 30 years ago. Income redistribution has occurred since 1980 -- from the poor to the rich -- with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans tripling their share of income through tax cuts and deregulation. The rest of us have worked just as hard, but percentage-wise our incomes have decreased.

The wealthiest 1 percent now take 25 percent of America's income. They took 7 percent in 1980. If it weren't for tax cuts and weak government, every middle-class working family would be earning $10,000 more a year. Think of what that would mean to most of us.

The Tribune should stop acting like we're all in the same boat. There's one big, broken-down boat for most of us and a yacht for the elite few.